Sniper Coward or Hero :: essays papers

Sniper Coward or HeroSince the invention of the firearm, skilled individuals withspecialized equipment have influenced the ebb and flow of thebattle line of products. At times this influence has been so great as toturn the tide of history. The enormous-range sharpshooter orsniper has had a telling effect on the direction, drive, andscope of battle. The sniper has felled the command structureof his enemies, rendered their equipment useless, and drivenfear into the snapper of the men. Thus, the sniper is one of themost effective weapons on the field of battle. A true sniperis an operative who gathers intelligence for the commandstructure and occasionally takes the one, well-aimed shot that,if done properly, allow for save lives. In order to betterunderstand exactly how snipers are valuable, one needs toconsider their mission, training, and equipment. The snipersprimary mission is to deliver long range, precision fire on keytargets and targets of opportunity. His secondary m ission isthe collection and reporting of information. Both missions arevery specific and dangerous. To carry out these missions, asniper moldiness be highly trained in marksmanship and field craftskills to ensure maximum effectiveness with minimum risk(Lanning 88-100). The U. S. Army Sniper School is volt weeksof intense training. Before a student can even be consideredfor attendance to sniper school, he must meet stringentqualifications and pass a psychological examination. Classes areusually small, but have a high failure rate. The first weekconsists of physical training and classroom instruction,concentrating on the construction of a Ghillie Suit, which isa special hand made form of camouflage (Sasser 215). Thesecond, third, and fourth weeks are composed of practicalexercises and tests covering everything taught during weekone. Emphasis is displace on developing stalking skills.Stalking is the term used when a sniper maneuvers into hisfinal firing position (Lannin g 159). After the fourth weekand all the field orientated tests have been completed, thestudents that are left, participate in a four day fieldtraining exercise which is run as a touchable life mission. Thestudents form two-man teams. One is the sniper and the otheris his spotter. The spotters main function is to observe atarget and provide data to the shooter. The spotter must alsobe fully sniper qualified and trained to carry out themission. The team receives an operation order, which explainsits first mission or objective. The team must then(prenominal) plan its